In this instructional video, the speaker explains that every website relies on a hosting account, which provides cloud storage for all site files such as images, text, and design assets. Some platforms bundle hosting in their monthly fees, while others require a separate purchase. The speaker outlines the main hosting options, focusing on the cheapest "shared hosting" where a single server’s resources are divided among thousands of users, offering no control over who shares the environment. Using a public‑school analogy, shared hosting is portrayed as a high‑risk, low‑control environment. The video then contrasts this with managed or dedicated hosting, where a site resides in its own isolated space on a server, protecting it from the actions of other users. A concrete security example is given: on a shared server, a compromised WordPress site using the popular Contact Form 7 plugin can allow a hacker to access neighboring sites on the same server if they are not kept up‑to‑date. The speaker advises startups to start with shared hosting only if necessary, but recommends moving to managed hosting as soon as budget permits, emphasizing the stress and vulnerability associated with shared hosting.
Chapters
The second, like, technology piece behind this is hosting. So every website has a hosting account, and what hosting provides is a place in the cloud that you rent that stores all the files that make up your website. So that would be your images, your text, your actual website look and feel, all the colors, everything to do with your website is stored in a hosting account. Some platforms have hosting included in the price that you pay each month for that platform. Others do not. So you need to know the difference when you're looking at platforms, if it includes hosting or not. The other piece of hosting is huge in the fact that there are several flavors of hosting. The cheapest is called shared hosting, and you can buy it at thousands of places on the internet. Shared hosting is literally what it says. You're using resources, you're sharing resources, you're storing your files with tens of thousands of other people that are on that server, and it can be from anywhere in the world. Uh, you have zero control over who goes there or who else is using those resources. It's whoever has accounts with whatever company you're purchasing at. I started with shared hosting. Most startup businesses start with shared hosting, and I'm here to tell you, if you can afford to go with more of a managed hosting account, do it. Shared hosting could be the equivalent of, let's say you've got kids in elementary school and you're gonna send them to public school or you're gonna homeschool them at home. Who's gonna bring home more colds, flus, viruses, whatevers, trips to the emergency room, whatever it is, is going to be the people in public school. And that is what shared hosting is, is like public school. If you end up getting a hosting account with your own resources and only your files are stored there, and it's, it's in its own little box on the server, so to speak, then that is way better. You're protected from what other people do and can cross over to yours within shared hosting. An example of this is WordPress is probably the most common platform out there to create a basic website on. Um, if you are using WordPress and you get your own hosting account and there's thousands of other people using WordPress on your server, which there will be, um, and say one of the most common, uh, plugins for WordPress is Contact Form 7. It is an extremely common plugin and lots of people use it. So if you don't keep it updated, and the updates are generally like security updates, patching holes, this and that. Um, somebody hacks into a website that's using Contact Form 7 and you're using it and you don't have it updated. Now, whoever hacked into the site over here, that's on your same server, has access to the back of the website, to your website. And that is what you're trying to prevent. So if there's, any way that you can afford to not get into shared hosting, do it. It is a very stressful place to be. We'll just leave it at that for now.
